


I'll Be Your Warmth

by Asellas



Series: Life Eternal [4]
Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Introspection, M/M, Mild Angst, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asellas/pseuds/Asellas
Summary: Touring was never easy, was oftentimes grueling, tireless work. Aether knows this, accepts it readily, but not even he is immune to what the weariness can do to the mind.
Relationships: Aether | Quintessence Ghoul/Dewdrop Ghoul | Fire Ghoul
Series: Life Eternal [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1486604
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	I'll Be Your Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Have a little, random snippet that pretty much wrote itself last night/this morning.  
> I decided to finally dangle a little of my Aether's thinking and thought processes at you guys... give a tiny look into not-quite-so-good-and-perfect Dad Ghoul.
> 
> A quick shoutout to [@Ephemeralgrime](/users/ephemeralgrime/), whose recent Omega/Aether piece got me really into writing soft Aether lately.

Everything was such a blur, his mind trapped in a relentless cycle of wake, setup, play, tear down, leave, sleep, with somewhere in between food and if they were lucky, a few hours of time to themselves off the bus before they had to be at the venue.

Oh, and a shower. If the venue they were playing at had one available.

Aether can’t really remember where they were tonight, just that it was already dark and freezing cold. But there was the promise of a hotel room for the night after the ritual, of a soft bed that wouldn’t feel like a coffin, of peace and quiet and the sacred luxury of being  _ alone _ .

“What are you doing out here?”

If Aether wasn’t so worn down, stretched taut like the strings of his guitar, he might have been startled by the soft growl of Dewdrop’s voice. Or, realistically, he’d have felt the fire ghoul’s aura rush in and fill the surrounding area with its vibrant belligerence before the shorter ghoul was within earshot. Instead of either he just closes his eyes, tilting his head back and breathing in deep, measured lungfuls of the frigid night air. The scuffing of shoes on the concrete is the only indication he was able of processing of Dewdrop’s approach, his mind feeling sluggish and almost loathe to focus on anything more complicated than ‘ _ breathe in, hold, 2, 3, 4, breathe out, 2, 3, 4... _ ‘

“Just…” Aether lifts a shoulder in a partial shrug, slowly opening his eyes and turning to peer at his fellow guitarist. “Enjoying the quiet, while it lasts.”

Dewdrop makes a face, voice an annoyed growl, “it’s fucking cold as shit out here. Freeze your fuckin’ dick off…” This was the Dewdrop they all knew; the angry, opinionated, spitfire of a ghoul that would barge into wherever uninvited and complain or pick a fight or  _ both _ . It was typically grating on his nerves, on  _ everyone’s _ nerves, but tonight Aether was just too damn tired to be bothered by it.

“You can go inside,” he says, and perhaps his weariness made it sound sharper than he meant it but he could feel the energy around them shift and go still. Dewdrop’s eyes narrow, the bright orange of them seeming like searing coals through the fringe of his lashes. But he’s still the one to break eye contact first, snorting softly and looking out into the dark night. It was strange, Aether had to admit, having expected more of a tantrum than this brittle silence, snarls and stomping feet instead of stiffness and…  _ What is that? What is this weird feeling coming from him…? _

Before Aether can open his mouth Dewdrop shakes his head, turning and crowding up into his personal space. “Here,” he says curtly, reaching out and grabbing one of the quintessence ghoul’s hands. Dewdrop holds it between his own, gingerly pressing palms against Aether’s larger hand, thin and delicate fingers juxtaposed against strong, thicker ones. The quintessence ghoul blinks, confused and taking too long to process what was going till he feels warmth blossom through his frozen fingers.

“Oh,” he breathes softly, a shudder going up his spine at the tingling sensation of feeling returning to his hand as body heat is restored to it.  _ Like jumpstarting a car… Using his own to refuel mine... _

“It’s bad for your fingers, you’ll get arthritis if you keep doing shit like this,” Dewdrop mumbles softly, his voice completely different when devoid of anger and irritation. “You should know better, after chiding us all the time to be careful with our hands… can’t play if we’ve injured them…” The pointed pink tip of his tongue darts out and wets his lips, gaze now burned down to quiet embers, carefully angled away as to not make direct contact with the confused aubergine eyes that followed his every movement. Carefully, he returns Aether’s hand to his coat pocket then reaches out and grasps his left hand, cradling it in his palms and breathing life back into numb digits. The gesture was, to most anyone else, nice, polite, one bandmate helping look after another, friends helping friends. But Aether knows better, knows how fragile and tentative this quiet softness was from the smaller ghoul, knows the turbulence that would be wringing his insides into knots the whole time.

Only Aether knows how immensely difficult this was for Dewdrop, for him to swallow down his pride and carefully let go of the blankets of aggression, spite, and general unpleasantness that he wrapped himself in as if they were a suit of armor. It was perhaps the one of his proudest achievements on Earth, to wrangle and tame who was viewed as the worst, most ill-behaved ghoul in clergy history. To dampen his heat and rage to something manageable, something that was actually sweet and, dare he say it,  _ loving _ . And every time he managed to bring this softness out from Dewdrop’s shell he couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of pride, elation that he’s done something no other has been able to, short of beating it physically and mentally into the slight ghoul. That he alone has been able to coax Dewdrop into being one of the most versatile, and by the judgement of some of the highest clergy, important ghouls the church currently had on the band roster.

_ You’ve done what Omega couldn’t, hasn’t, been able to do. You no longer stand in his shadow, rather to the side of it, able to be acknowledged and praised without the credit ultimately going to him as the quintessence mentor. _

“Thank you,” Aether murmurs, smiling softly down at Dewdrop. Orange eyes flick upwards, momentarily locking with his own before settling back on their clasped hands.

_ None of them could do this, could press him into a mold that better fit into the slot the clergy wanted ghouls to fill. None have the patience, the sense to unravel the puzzle Dewdrop is to them all, nor the capability to slowly sculpt him into what they would want. _

Aether leans forward slowly, giving Dewdrop indication of what he was going to do, allowing him time to move should he wish. The fire ghoul doesn’t move a muscle, however, staying still and quiet as if he were almost a statue, or rather, a robot still processing a task. His lips brush Dewdrop’s forehead, right below his hairline, and he can feel the shiver that ripples through him. Aether smiles softly, placing a kiss a little further down, Dewdrop’s skin pleasantly warm and surprisingly soft, then slowly continues his way south. He presses another at the ridge of Dewdrop’s brow, right above where it dips down to the bridge of his nose.

His plans are interrupted as the shorter ghoul pulls his head back slightly and lifts his chin, his intentions a mystery to Aether. Then there comes the soft surprise of the more pointed tip of his nose being gently pressed against the larger, wider one of his own. Warmth once again unfurls like the petals of a flower spreading out to soak up sunshine, a soft rush that fills his cheeks and lips, down his neck and over to the tips of his ears. Dewdrop rubs the tips of their noses together with an almost indiscernible movement of his head, his eyes closed with his long lashes splayed out against his pale complexion.

And the gesture is just so very  _ tender _ . So out of place and character yet at the same time  _ not _ , a perfect representation of the blending of fire and water heritage within his blood.

Aether can’t help but kiss him soundly, though still chaste. Can’t help but gently pull the thinner body to hold flush against his own, arms loosely wrapped around Dewdrop’s waist. He can feel the fire ghoul’s timidity of intimate closeness in the slight stiffening of his spine and shoulders, though he doesn’t push away or break the gentle press of their lips.

When he finally retreats, Aether’s voice is a soft rumble, “thank you, for the warmth.”

“Sure,” Dewdrop replies after wrestling his own from the emotion that bound it up, having to lick his lips and swallow a few times before it would work. “Yeah… It’s, I don’t, uh…” he clears his throat, cheeks flushing as he scrambles for words. “I, I don’t uh, mind. Whenever you need it, I can… if you want, ah, help.”

Aether smiles, reaching up to cup Dewdrop’s face in his hands before leaning forward to give him another chaste kiss. “I might have to take you up on that later,” he says, and from the way Dewdrop’s aura spikes and swirls around his own he knows that his intent was understood.

Unfortunately, the stress and workload shattered any ideas Aether had thought of. The moment he flopped onto the hotel bed, skin still flushed and bleeding the heat of the shower, he was out. When he wakes the next morning he feels refreshed, remade, as if he were a toy that had nearly dead batteries replaced with new ones. He stretches, yawning, then goes about his usual morning ritual, the memory of warm eskimo kisses in the frigid dark lost in the clutter of memories swept up and tidied away like papers needing to be sorted without urgency.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is [@Blacklight-ghoulette](http://blacklight-ghoulette.tumblr.com), thank you for reading! <3


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